A local effort you should help support

Daniel Sargent never served in the military himself — but it wasn’t from lack of desire. The Karnack resident tried to enlist into the service in 1977 but was not allowed because his hearing was too poor. But if Sargent could not serve in the military, it doesn’t mean it can’t serve those who are service personnel, and that is exactly what he has been doing for the last three years.Now Sargent is asking for a little help from his friends and neighbors. Sargent is founder of Supporting Our Soldiers, which sends “care” packages to American troops deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Two of Sargent’s sons have served in Afghanistan and Iraq, so he has some idea of the need. In the last three years he has sent thousands of such packages, with items such as canned meats, snack items, socks, underwear, T-shirts and cosmetic products. The Marshall News Messenger has written about the effort on several occasions and again this week. We would hope that some of you would lend a hand to help in with the project. This is a selfless act designed to make the lives of our service personnel just a little bit easier. As Sargent says, it is the least we can do for these men and women who are going into harm’s way on our behalf. If you want to get involved you can do so in a number of different ways. Sargent needs both help with donations and help doing the actual work. None of the items needed for the boxes is expensive and most of us could pick up one or two as we made a trip to the grocery store. These include AA and AAA batteries, crossword puzzle books, towels, gel shaving cream, mouthwash, shampoo, pens, white socks, playing cards, dental floss, chapstick, hand sanitizer, foot powder, sunflower seeds, bean dip, cookies and candy. The list goes on. If you want to take part in the effort — and we hope you do — you can contact Sargent at 903-578-1533 or e-mail him at desargent@sbec.com. It doesn’t take much to get involved in this one, but it can mean a great deal to the young man or woman who receives that care package so far away from home. Posted: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 11:12 am Marshall News Messenger